It is known that naturally recurring sounds of nature, like rainfall or the rolling of the ocean surf, possess the power to calm and sooth. Various techniques that have simulated these natural sounds in the home or office, both to reproduce their calming and soothing effect and to mask unwanted noise, have often resulted in improved mental concentration and enhanced relaxation.
LP's, CD's or audio cassettes belong to one class of devices that have been employed to reproduce such natural or other sounds in the home or office.
For this class of devices, preselected natural sounds are recorded on the LP's, CD's or audio cassettes and replayed on the corresponding sound reproduction equipment, such as a record player, CD player or tape deck.
Although these media offer the advantage of comparatively-long intervals of continuous, non-repetitive replay, they are subject to a potentially annoying and disruptive repeat/rewind cycle, can be cumbersome to use and are subject to wear and tear over their useful life.
When the record needs to be turned over, or when the audio cassette continuous replay mechanism resets itself, or when the CD player, following its replay program, stops to reposition its read laser, such devices exhibit a quite pronounced disruption of the natural sound being reproduced thereby, which may impair its intended calming and soothing effects. In addition, any background noise is unmasked during the repeat cycle, which likewise may adversely impact the intended calming and soothing effects of the natural sound being replayed.
The collectability of the CD's, LP's and audio cassettes of this class of devices offers individuals the advantage to customize their library of prerecorded natural sounds according to individual taste. However, the separate purchase of another LP, CD or audio cassette is typically required for each and every different sound to be collected.
Another class of devices for playing prerecorded natural or other sounds in the home or office is represented by the so-called digital sound soother, or sound conditioner, devices. For this class of devices, any one of a plurality of natural sounds prerecorded in internal digital memory (ROM) is selected for replay by the touch of a control button. In the Tranquil Moments.TM. TM-500 Sound Relaxation System commercially available from the Brookstone, Inc. Company, six (6) natural and other sounds are digitally recorded (Ocean, Stream, Rain, Waterfall, Summer Night and Soother sounds), and in the Marsona.RTM. 1250 Sound Conditioner, ten (10) natural sounds (Surf; Surf with random overlay of Sea Gulls & Bell Buoy at random times; Surf "2"; Rain Downpour; Rain Shower; Rain Shower with random overlay of Evening Bird Songs at random times; Waterfall; Crickets and Spring Peepers randomly overlaid on Rain, and Babbling Brook sounds) are prerecorded therein. The Marsona.RTM. 1250 Sound Conditioner is commercially available from the Marpac Corporation.
In the Digital Sound Soother XS, commercially available from Sharper Image, Inc., three (3) types of continuous sounds are available for selection, a Harbor sound with Waves and Gulls, a Countryside sound with Crickets and Frogs, and a White Noise sound. To the continuous Harbor sound, auxiliary Fog Horn, Seal and Ships Bell sounds may be randomly overlayed by an auxiliary sounds volume control slide, and to the continuous Countryside sound, auxiliary Dove, Owl, Wolf and Loons sounds may be randomly overlayed by the volume slide.
The utility of the heretofore known sound soother, or sound conditioner, devices, however, has been limited by their lack of customizability and by their inflexibility.
The heretofore known devices have been inflexible, in that the only choice of sounds presented to individuals has been limited to the selection of the particular prerecorded natural sounds digitally stored therein. For the Tranquil Moments.TM. TM-500 Sound Relaxation System, for example, one, and only one, of the Ocean, Stream, Rain, Waterfall, Summer Night and Soother sounds may be selected for replay by depressing a corresponding sound selector button. The Marsona.RTM. 1250 Sound Conditioner device, also only allows one, and only one, of the sounds prerecorded therein to be selected for replay by depressing a corresponding sound selector button. For the Digital Sound Soother XS device, the volume slide only controls the volume (from "off" to full volume) of the auxiliary sounds that are overlaid on the continuous sounds thereof.
The heretofore known sound soother, or sound conditioner, devices have suffered from a lack of customizability, in that individuals who for any reason desire a natural sound not prerecorded in the internal digital memory of the heretofore known devices have had no choice but to acquire another such device that does have the desired natural sound prerecorded therein. Not only has this resulted in frustration if no such device were available, but has required another cash outlay for the other sound soother device that contained the desired sound.